According to the majority of the later scholars (mutaʾakhkhirīn ʿulamāʾ), Husayn's tomb is at Tafta, by the river of Karbala where ʿAlī was martyred. It is related that this martyrdom monument was built over the tomb of Husayn. Allah knows best the truth of the matter. According to what Ibn Jarīr and others have narrated, the place where Husayn was killed has become indistinct, such that even ʿAmse was not able to determine it. Abū Nuʿaym Sabil b. Dakkīn rejected those who claimed to know the location of Husayn's tomb.
According to what Hishām b. Kalbī narrated, in order to obscure the location of the tomb, water was poured over Husayn's grave, and after forty days the water receded and dried up. A Bedouin from the Banū Asad tribe came there and began to take handfuls of earth, smelling them. Eventually, he stood at the head of Husayn's tomb, fell down and wept, and said: "May my mother and father be sacrificed for you! How pleasant is your fragrance, and how fragrant is your earth." After saying this, he recited the following couplet:
"They sought to hide your grave from your enemy,
But the sweet scent of the grave's earth revealed where your tomb lies."